Women’s soccer beats Utah in front of record crowd

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In front of another record crowd, the BYU women’s soccer team beat Utah 1-0 in dramatic fashion Sept. 6 on a late penalty kick from freshman forward Ashley Hatch.

“That was quite the exciting game wasn’t it?” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood asked following the game. “I’m just real proud of the girls. It was a big event with unbelievable fan support.”

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BYU freshman defender Avery Calton takes the ball away from a Utah player during Friday’s home win over the Utes. (Photo by Ari Davis)

Both defenses impressed throughout the game. The Cougar back line — consisting of junior Annie Amos, sophomore Paige Hunt and freshmen Ella Johnson and Avery Calton — turned away nearly every challenge in the first half. The Utes did not cross into the BYU box for the first 10 minutes of the game and only recorded one shot during the entire half.

On the other side of the ball, the Cougars put the pressure on the Utes in the first half, taking seven shots — four of which were on goal. Twenty minutes in, Hatch fired a shot from about 30 yards out that required a diving save from Utah’s keeper, and three more close calls followed just minutes later.

Despite going into the half scoreless, the Cougars were confident.

“This team has proven that when things get a little rough, we have the confidence to gut it out,” Rockwood said.

Though lacking nothing in intensity and energy, the Cougars initially struggled finding the back of the net during the second half.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, the Cougars were hit hard when forward Jaiden Thornock was given her second controversial yellow card, putting her out of the game and forcing BYU to play a man down for the remaining 30 minutes.

The BYU defense stepped up big again as Utah applied more pressure than ever. The Cougar defenders beat the Utes to just about every ball and, despite being undermanned, only allowed two shots on goal the entire second half.

With 10 minutes to play, a Utah forward got a clean look at the goal and fired a shot. BYU senior and star goalkeeper Erica Owens made a diving stop that will be considered one of the plays of the game.

“Unbelievable performance by our back four. I thought they did a fantastic job,” Rockwood said. “And obviously Erica came up huge for us when we needed her in the second half.”

Shortly after the save, Hatch’s aggressive play drew the foul inside the box that would prove to be the deciding play.

“I went to go poke the ball in, and as I got up she kinda gave me a shove back down. It’s all part of the game,” Hatch said.

With two minutes to play, Hatch approached the ball and put the penalty kick into the net as the crowd of more than 5,400 roared.

Hatch said the magnitude of the team’s accomplishment began to sink in after the game.

“It shows how great our team is. We fought hard and we were down, but we still came back to win the game,” Hatch said.

Cougar fans proved to be some of the best collegiate soccer fans in the country, setting another South Field attendance record with 5,402.

The “Girls of Fall,” as they are called, travel to play at Oregon on Thursday, Sept. 12, and return home to South Field on Saturday, Sept. 14, to face UC Irvine.

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